


Seek You Out Amongst the Stars

by elizathecat



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Autistic Bruce Banner, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, M/M, autistic thor, space suits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:01:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26012296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizathecat/pseuds/elizathecat
Summary: Date night Asgardian style involves cuddling in space suits and floating among the stars.Or:“You should get a PhD in cuddles because holy shit is this a good idea.”
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Thor
Comments: 8
Kudos: 60





	Seek You Out Amongst the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, this has nothing to do with canon, I'm here for the snuggles and nothing else :)
> 
> Title is from Love and Space Dust by David Jones.

When Thor had first mentioned Asgard’s ‘floating pools’ Bruce had assumed it was a mistranslation. Perhaps the Asgardians simply preferred floating in the water to swimming and so named their pools after their main use. Thor certainly had seemed happy enough swimming with the other Avengers, though Thor was the sort who was always happy when he was exercising, and was delighted by his introduction to the Midgardian concept of dunking.

But this was definitely not a swimming pool. Bruce wasn’t even sure it could be called a pool. Having announced he was taking Bruce on a date, Thor had brought him here to the very edge of Asgard, where rivers tumbled over into endless space, but there were several people floating a little way out, near a platform jutting out into the abyss. There was some sort of thin but impervious membrane glinting slightly in the darkness, never visible enough to be reassuring. The Asgardians inside it didn’t seem bothered; several of them were pushing themselves off the membrane as hard as they could to go shooting across the bubble.

“This is definitely safe, right?”

Thor took Bruce’s hands and squeezed gently, swinging them a little. “Perfectly. I wouldn’t have brought you here if it wasn’t.”

“So this is…I know I’m in space right now, on a different planet, but I get to be in space?”

“Yeah! You get to be in space,” The goofiest grin spread across Thor’s face, his eyes scrunching, and Bruce couldn’t help but smile back, "but first we need to get changed.”

The little building next to the bubble had a desk, where they were handed soft bundles of fabric and directed to rows of changing rooms. The bundle of fabric unfolded into what looked like a onesie, complete with a hood, gloves and boots, and a zip up the front. Bruce sighed, slightly worried this was an elaborate prank, but he would never object to putting on more clothes, and the fluffy looking onesie was infinitely better than the Midgardian idea of swimwear. He slipped out of his shoes and outermost jacket, pulling the onesie on and wiggling his toes in the fluffy boots, zipping the front and clapping his hands gently a few times to feel the squish of the gloves. 

He turned and studied himself in the apparently ubiquitous changing room mirrors. Once he fastened the suit it had expanded around him, making him twice his usual width. A visor had come down, sealing the hood and encasing him in a quiet cocoon. Despite its bulk, the soft fabric was pleasantly warm and he could feel it cushioning him, compressing around his joints as he made an undignified waddle to Thor’s cubicle and hammered on the door until it opened.

“Thor. Is this just a fancy spacesuit?” 

Thor’s eyes went very wide and he was silent for a moment, reaching out to gently pat at Bruce’s round arm. “Uhm.”

“Hang on, why aren’t you this round?” Bruce demanded, looking at Thor’s suit, simply bulky instead of marshmallow-like.

“Uh,” Thor squeaked again, and coughed sheepishly, “they’re self-adjusting, you probably noticed? It’s just easier that way because the Aesir aren’t the only species to use this pool and everyone has slightly different biological requirements.”

“So the suit thinks I’m delicate and decided to bubble wrap me?” Bruce summarised wryly, hearing the slight echo of Hulk’s laughter at the idea.

“The suit can’t think Banner, it simply measured your current—oh you’re joking. But yes, you’re more vulnerable to the cold and pressure changes so it has taken on a more insulating form.” Thor side-eyed Bruce and blushed a little, appreciating his very cuddly looking more insulated form.

“So those guys without suits, what are they?”

“Oh they’re still Aesir, they’re just warriors. We can survive space so some like to demonstrate their endurance by going floating without a suit.”

“You’re a warrior aren’t you?”

“Yes, and I’ve gone without a suit before when I was young and foolish but the suits are much more comfortable.”

“…I guess you’re right,” Bruce admitted, patting the thick layers of padding over his tummy, “but why does it have to be so hard to walk?” he bobbled along the few steps to the edge of the bubble, aware Thor was shortening his stride to keep pace.

“Luckily, you don’t need to walk any further!" Thor ran at the edge of the bubble, launching himself into space.

Bruce waddled at a more sedate pace, managing a little hop off the platform. Even though he logically should have expected it, he still flailed a little when it pushed him upwards. The barrier got worryingly less visible the closer he got, the slight shimmer fading and leaving an unobstructed view out into open space. The empty, endless dark scared him, as it had always done. The countless miles to the next civilisation, the unforgiving, freezing vacuum, the uncertainty of what could be lurking, just out of sight… But he was toasty warm in his soft suit and he could see the wispy swirls of nebulae in the black, dotted with pinpricks of light. The constellations here were different to the ones he had comforted himself with as a child but they were the same stars, and here he was floating amongst them.

He had still been drifting vaguely upwards, though directions were meaningless, and jolted out of his thoughts when he nudged gently into the barrier. It distorted a little, bouncy under his chubby fingertips, visible again when it moved. 

“Bruce!” Thor called from behind him, “you’ve got to push off it to move!” And he hit the barrier hard, sending ripples through it that Bruce could feel, bouncing off and tumbling through a group that had collected nearby.

Bruce looked for an empty space, not wanting to follow Thor’s bowling ball example, and pushed himself in that direction. He paddled wildly for a moment when his torso tipped backwards, not having pushed off with his feet as well, but he stilled when he realised he didn’t feel upside down. He wasn’t falling, even though in relation to Asgard he was going downwards; he was floating. 

He waved his hands in the empty space in front of him, wiggling his fingers and squeaking happily when his soft gloves squished around his knuckles. This was much better than a swimming pool! There was no effort to floating, he just existed there in space, encased in the warm puffy suit and gazing at the stars. He starfished experimentally, and then curled up in a ball, hugging his knees to his chest to savour the feeling of the double layer of padding and the soft pressure all around him.

The others in the pod were lively; bouncing off the bubble and knocking into each other, shoving friends off course and flying backwards themselves in a perfect demonstration of Newton’s Third Law, but Bruce had drifted down into a quiet area, below the edge of Asgard. They must be noisy, like a school playground, he thought, but the comms weren’t connected so he didn’t have to listen to the laughter and shrieks like he’d had to as a child. 

All he could hear was his own breathing, quiet and rhythmic. He wrapped his arms more snugly around himself, wriggling his shoulders and tapping the toes of his boots together rapidly to dispel some of the excitement bubbling up inside him. The suit was so puffy and plump it was like the perfect sort of hug, surrounded by softness and warmth and pressure where movement pulled it tightly against his skin. 

Thor zoomed past again, and Bruce laughed quietly at his constantly enthusiastic boyfriend. He allowed himself one last squeeze and flapped his hands a little in excitement. Time to go join Thor. He looked at the membrane, and out into the bubble, trying to estimate the amount of force needed to move him where he wanted to go. Planting his hands and feet against the membrane, he pushed, floating backwards across the pool. He twisted experimentally, managing to turn himself around so he could see the other side approaching and came to a halt near the other side of the bubble.

“Hey Thor, where’d you get to?”

A whoop of joy rung in Bruce’s ears as the comms connected and Thor called “behind you!” as he barrelled past.

Bruce looked, calculating Thor’s path, and pushed off hard. He let out a whoop himself, spinning through space and watching the stars tumble across his field of vision. As he spun back around he collided with Thor, wrapping his arms around him so they wouldn’t bounce off each other.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Thor teased, grasping Bruce’s chubby waist and rubbing little circles into his suit.

“Thanks for…this,” Bruce smiled shyly, “I always wanted to go to space.”

“I know. But I brought you here for another reason as well.” he tugged Bruce impossibly closer, looping his arms around his hips.

“Oh that’s nice,” Bruce sighed as their suits squashed against each other, Thor’s arms adding to the pressure surrounding him and sending shivers of pleasure across his skin.

“Yes I…” Thor was blushing slightly and squeaked as Bruce hugged him closer, running his puffy hands down his back, “I really like how comfy the suits are and I’ve uh, daydreamed about…this.”

“You should get a PhD in cuddles because holy shit is this a good idea.”

“Will you be my research partner Doctor Banner?”

“I look forward to working with you,” Bruce teased while he wrapped his legs around one of Thor’s, stretching slightly in his suit to appreciate its warm weight.

Thor dropped his head onto Bruce’s shoulder with a sigh. “Mmph. You’re so comfy like this.”

“Yeah. You too I mean,” he agreed, tipping his head affectionately against Thor's, still rubbing his hands across Thor’s padded shoulders, focusing on the way the fabric squished and crinkled beneath his fingers, “how long can we stay here? I think a bunch of people are leaving.”

“I’m royalty, “Thor gestured vaguely, “we can stay as long as you’d like.”

“Forever then,” Bruce whispered, watching the last Asgardian leave the pod from the corner of his eye.

“Forever sounds good.”

And together they floated, the only two people in their small bit of the universe.


End file.
